1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to surgical instruments for performing laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical procedures, and, more particularly, relates to a surgical trocar incorporating a novel magnetically active component for facilitating alignment and insertion of magnetically responsive surgical instruments during use in a surgical environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical procedures, a small incision or puncture is made in the patient's body to provide access for a surgical system which is inserted into the patient's body to permit viewing of the surgical site or for the insertion of instruments used in performing the surgical procedure. The surgical system may be in the form of a trocar cannula assembly incorporating an outer cannula and an obturator which is positioned in the outer cannula. The obturator includes a sharpened point or tip which is used create a path to the surgical site. The obturator is then removed leaving the cannula in place to maintain access to the surgical site. Once the cannula is in place, various surgical instruments such as graspers, scissors, dissectors, retractors or the like, may be inserted by a surgeon to perform the surgery. Typically, these surgical instruments are constructed from ferrous metals such as stainless steel, carbon steel, alloy steel or the like, and, thus, are inherently magnetically responsive.